Flying Cars To Become A Reality Soon? Alef Aeronautics Just Got Flying Approval In The US

The concept of flying cars isn’t a novel one. Of course, we’ve seen various renditions of said flying cars in numerous sci-fi movies, but it seems like we actually might be closer to getting one than we ever were. And it's all thanks to a California-based startup called Alef, which just received approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the US.

That certification gives the company a permit or license, which will allow its cars to fly legally in the States, even though the product is still some time away from hitting the market.

The Alef Model A’s design might not fly everyone’s plane (apologies for the bad pun), but at least it's not drab to look at. The company hired a Bugatti and Jaguar designer from Sweden to come up with what you see on your screen currently. 

The sides of the car store its butterfly wings, while the upper part of the entire body is covered in mesh. The bubble-like roof is where it can seat a maximum of two passengers. Of course, this isn’t production ready just yet, and a few changes could be incorporated into the final product. 

It drives on pure electricity, and Alef says a hydrogen-powered option may be made available later down the line at a higher price. What makes this the current most foreseeably feasible flying car proposition is the fact that it can lift off vertically. Yes, it doesn't need a runway for takeoff, like most contemporary flying mobility solutions, which makes it ideal for our current infrastructure. Once airborne, the car will tilt 90 degrees so that the top (bubble-like roof) now faces forward.

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It makes use of multiple propellers for propulsion duties in the air, and Alef claims a driving range of 322km and a flight range of around 160km. Those numbers could be different from when the company releases the product, which could be sometime around late 2025. 

The Model A has already been available for pre-orders since October 2022 and is expected to launch with a price tag of around USD 3,00,000, which is around Rs 2.46 crore (converted as per price at the time of writing). How soon would you like to see one of these flying about in the country? Disclaimer: It might be sooner than you’d expect. Let us know what you think in the comments below.